Never Forgotten
by Narev
Summary: After Sarah denies him, Jareth is tired of being only half remembered by humans and he aims to reclaim the world where he once ruled as the King of the Fae. R and R please!
1. Acceptance

The crystal in his hand shone white in the light of the crescent moon that filtered through the windows. The reflections of the crystal danced across ivory walls like silver butterflies. Within the crystal was a clear, sweet image of Sarah packing away the pictures of her mother into drawers and a small, wooden box that contained other memories.

The dark-haired girl looked up and over her shoulder, calling out to her father's voice. A flash of dreamy, hazel eyes and the curve of delicately smiling lips before she turned back to forgetting.

Jareth's fingers, clad in soft, dark leather, tightened ruthlessly around the crystal and he watched with impassive eyes as Sarah looked around, alarmed at the sounds of breaking glass around her.

The crystal shattered in the Goblin King's hand and from those great, jagged cracks light and color whispered out, staining the air and fluttering to the floor, soon blown away by the wind.

Jareth tipped his hand so that the shards of the crystal followed the color and light and watched as the pieces hit the ground with soft, sweet chiming.

He had offered her everything. Anything. And she had turned him down with those foolish little words. Words that would not have held such power if there had been even a shiver of doubt. But Sarah had truly believed that he, the great Goblin King, had no power of over her… and in this Labyrinth, belief was all that was needed.

Jareth tipped his head back and rested it against his throne, listening to the goblins rebuild the city below his windows. He knew he could have waved a hand and the walls would be replaced, the glass remade, the gate keeper set back into his proper post but he didn't have the heart for any of it.

Soft, mocking laughter filled the room and Jareth opened his odd, mismatched eyes. The left eye was as clear and as blue as summer skies and the right eye was a deep, molten gold. As he listened to the laughter, both eyes became cold and angry.

"Do not mock me, Aine, I have no temper for it today," he growled into the empty room. Before him, drifting through the air as if she was a butterfly, a lovely woman materialized.

Long, golden hair sailed around her shoulder and hips in dreamy waves and her large crimson eyes twinkled at him merrily. Draped over her slight form was golden and cream colored silk, pale, luminescent flesh showing through in taunting peaks.

"Great king," the woman said, crimson lips forming the words with smug confidence, "You are never in the mood for mockery. But I can't help it; I have never seen you fail so spectacularly."

She laughed again, vanishing and reappearing, perched on a windowsill. The wind lifted her hair and the long, flowing silk that she wore, making it dance around her like ghosts.

"Be silent, Aine," the Goblin King commanded. The woman laughed again and vanished, appearing right in front of Jareth, suspended upside down with her long, golden hair falling below her and brushing against the floor at the Goblin King's feet.

"Even you must marvel at your own failure, my king," Aine said softly, "Not only did you lose the child that was to be your heir but you also lost the girl that you thought of as an equal!"

Jareth hissed softly at the woman hanging in front of him. She smiled and danced away, out of his reach.

"Why do you take such joy from my failure, Aine?"

The golden woman laughed softly again, perched on an arch above a door. She crossed her legs, exposing more pale flesh.

"Because, my king, your failures are so rare," she cooed. Jareth, who was watching her with the cold eyes of a hunting lion settled back into his throne, slightly mollified by her praise.

"Are they?" he asked.

"So rare, my sweet king," Aine crooned, "So very, very rare. I have seen mercy from demons more often than failures from you."

Jareth's lips curled into a pleased smirk and he waved his hand in a casual circle. Between his fingers the stem of a crystal goblet appeared, filled with dark wine.

"And even in your failure you succeed, my king," Aine told him.

"Oh?"

"Would you like me to tell you the girl's future?"

Jareth inclined his head delicately and Aine leapt into the air. She twisted around into slow, serpentine shapes, weightless and boneless in the air. Her eyes flashed white and her skin began to glow. As she twisted and turned she became the only thing that was giving off light, filling the room with warm, flickering radiance.

She stilled herself suddenly, holding between her hands a great, shining mirror filled with golden light. It flashed and soft, haunting whispers filled the room.

"Lo, my king," she purred, "See the girl who denied you."

The glass showed Sarah as an old woman, her once long brown hair now grey and lifeless and kept short and ugly. Her skin had become papery, spotted and her eyes faded and lost.

"She will age, my king," Aine said, "She will forget about magic and laughter and the stories you gave her and as she forgets she will learn of sorrow and pain. Her heart will be broken many, many times and her life will become pale and meaningless. As she will become. She will age, my king, she will grow old and frail and forgetful and then, when she is nothing more than a burden on her family, she will die."

Jareth purred softly in the back of his throat, reclining in his throne like a great lion, content after a kill.

Aine continued in a lullaby-soft voice, "And a few years after her death, my king, her children will die. And her children's children will die. And then she will be forgotten for all eternity… lost and forgotten. And the boy that you wanted for your heir… he will follow this path as well. He will flare bright for a moment, as you knew he would, but then that glow will fade and he will grow old and he, too, will fade and die and be forgotten."

Aine wrapped her arms around the mirror and the glowing glass vanished, taking Sarah's old, wrinkled, ugly likeness with it. Aine drifted down and landed lightly on the cool marble floor and knelt at the Goblin King's feet.

"This is the life of mortals, my king," Aine murmured, "They all grow old, die and then are forgotten… So even in your failure to capture the girl, your success in triumphing over her is secure. After all, my king, you will live for all eternity. _You_ will not age. _You _will not die. _You_ will never, ever be forgotten."

"I won't be forgotten…" Jareth echoed.

"Never, my king," Aine whispered, "There are those on Earth who wait silently for you; those who know of your existence only through dreams but yearn so much for your embrace that they would leave all they knew behind just for a warm glance."

"Do you speak truly, Aine? Or are these just words to soothe your king?" Jareth asked, looking down into the fortune teller's crimson eyes. Shyly the girl reached out and touched the hem of Jareth's flowing cape with delicate fingertips.

"I would never speak false to you, my king," she told him, "I am ever your servant and all I can do is tell you truths."

"Then there are humans who remember me," Jareth said thoughtfully.

"By other names, my king," Aine told him, "You are the Erlking to some, Oberon to others… But you live in their memories forever; a reminder of a time when there was magic in the world."

Jareth smirked, pleased and mollified by Aine's words. It was true; he was ageless, timeless, endless… how had he forgotten that? How had he let a foolish human girl distract him?

"I tire of being only half-remembered, Aine," the Goblin King said softly, "I tire of hiding from human sight… only allowed to show myself in their dreams."

"Then perhaps it is time to remind them, my king," Aine said with breathless excitement. "There are none on earth who could stand against you. Gather the Fae and take back the kingdom that was stolen."

Jareth considered and held up a hand. Light and magic converged at his fingertips and another crystal appeared, showing the streets of earth in all of their bustling fury.

"The Summer Queen and the Winter Queen would be willing to join me," he said musingly, "They have longed to take back the world…"

"What of the Dark Fae, my king?" Aine murmured.

The smile that curled the Goblin King's lips was both chilling and exciting to Aine, who stared up at Jareth with abject adoration.

"The Dark Fae," Jareth purred, "They have waited eagerly for such a call… they will answer more willingly than any other."

"Let me send out the call, my king," Aine whispered, crimson eyes gleaming with fervor, "Let me call them together to kneel at your feet."

Jareth looked down at her and smiled indulgently as he would at an excited child. He laid a gloved hand onto of Aine's head and she closed her eyes, shivering.

"Patience, Aine," the Goblin King counseled, "Taking back earth will require delicacy and patience. I must think first."

"As you will, my king," she whispered, "I am yours to command."

"Good. Help the goblins repair the city and see what else that girl did to foul my Labyrinth," Jareth commanded, retracting his caress. Aine stood and curtsied to the king.

"My King," she murmured and then leapt into the air, sailing from the window and into the City beyond.

Jareth stared into the crystal and watched as humans hurried by, each as lost and confused as the next. Each blind to magic and wonder… There were few that could even remember how to stand against a Fae king, few who would believe any more. They were all easily commanded, easily destroyed.

He laughed softly to himself and tossed the crystal into the air where it shone and danced, as insubstantial as the dreams Jareth commanded.


	2. Punishment

Aine flickered through the Goblin City as if she was a lightning bug; streaks of her long, golden hair sailed after her and shimmered prettily in the dying light as she lent her aid to the loyal goblins who had tried to protect Jareth

Aine flickered through the Goblin City as if she was a lightning bug; streaks of her long, golden hair sailed after her and shimmered prettily in the dying light as she lent her aid to the loyal goblins who had tried to protect Jareth.

Aine was not much of a builder, but helped as well as she could; caring for the wounded and lifting stones where the goblins could not reach. Slowly, she saw the wounds of the City heal.

She drifted high above the Labyrinth, the Palace and the City, her crimson gaze distant and angry.

Aine gazed down at the Goblin City as it was slowly rebuilt. Her scarlet lips crimped into a scowl and she narrowed her vividly red eyes. Fury as she had never known burned inside her and made it hard to stay in the air.

That stupid, wretched, foolish human girl… She had done all of this. She was too blame.

Aine breathed deeply, attempting to control herself and turned away from the destruction. She gazed over the rest of the Labyrinth, over the twisting, curving, spiraling paths that were as endless as their King.

But even as the City was rebuilt, Aine could sense where the girl had walked.

The only reason that the girl had managed to find her way through the Labyrinth was by the Goblin King's mercy and desire; had Jareth wished it, she would have fallen into an oubliette and never seen the light of the day ever, ever again.

_But… he wanted her to find him,_ Aine thought and her rage doubled. Her hands curled into hard fists and pressed into her thighs.

Furious, she shot into the sky, a gold and cream streak against the rapidly fading light. The wind screamed into her ears and the cold clouds soaked through the fine robes she wore and made her shiver, her skin rippling into gooseflesh.

Aine slowed when the air began to thin and drifted over the clouds, dipping her bare feet into them idly.

_She wished the child away,_ Aine fumed silently, _and the King acquiesced. She asked for him back and the King offered her a chance… which is more than he has ever done for any other. _

The human girl's ingratitude was stunning to Aine… almost as much so as her stupidity. Though the red-eyed woman knew that such stupidity was only to be expected from a human.

"A creature of the mud," Aine said loftily, dipping her fingers into the clouds, "What sort of intelligence could creatures like that have? Born from mud and filth… it's amazing that they have survived for so long."

Aine laughed softly to herself, swooping in and out of the cool, wet clouds like a dolphin.

The Goblin King had shown that girl infinite patience. Such patience he had never shown any of his loyal subjects like the other fae, like the goblins… like Aine.

At every rudeness, at ever show of ignorance it seemed that the King's admiration and fondness of the girl grew, as had Aine's rage and hatred.

She turned over onto her back, drifting weightlessly through the air and staring up at the lovely blue bowl of the sky. She watched as pinpricks of brightly colored stars, like distant jewels, shyly shone against the coming darkness.

Aine smiled a little and watched through half-lidded eyes as stars went sweeping across the sky in their nightly dance. But her mind was not on the spectacle above her, instead she thought of the chaos and destruction far below.

The girl… that stupid girl had tainted the Labyrinth with her very presence; her hands on the stones, her marks on the paths, her effect on the inhabitants. Aine frowned a little and sat up slowly, considering.

The taint that the girl had caused and slowly spread with each step through the Labyrinth would have to be stopped and reversed; it was as simple as that. In most cases it would be very easy; her marks could be scrubbed away and the stones she had dared lay her hands on could be replaced… but the memories of those who had spent time in the girl's presence…

Aine flipped over and dove like a falcon through the clouds. Her eyes watered as she shot through the cooling air, aiming for a small, wrinkled creature with a penchant for jewels.

Hoggle stared gloomily down into the pond where he had first met Sarah… he wished her first impression of him had been better.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with one stumpy-fingered hand and looked up into the clouded sky. Fairies fluttered and hummed through the air around him, but he didn't raise his can of poison, and he knew he never would again.

Though he would not admit it, Hoggle had fallen in love with Sarah; would, in fact, have traded every one of his jewels to be someone she could love in return. To not look like…

Hoggle gazed into the pond again and sighed when he saw his reflection, the washed-out eyes gazed back from an old, leathery, wrinkled face that had not even been beautiful when it was young.

He reached up and brushed his fingers over his cheek, where she had kissed him. It seemed like it had been ages ago.

"Reminiscing, hog wart?" Aine purred, touching down delicately opposite him. Robes of cream and gold flowed around her and slid into the pond slowly. They waved dreamily through reeds and scummy water.

"Hog_gle_!" he snapped, looking up at her. Aine raised an arching brow and a slow, cruel smile twisted her lips dangerously.

"You dare correct me?" she asked silkily and struck out at him, bringing the back of her hand sweeping through the air, though the pond separated them. Nevertheless, Hoggle went flying into the outer walls of the Labyrinth, his skull connecting with the stone with a sickening crack and a cry of pain. Aine laughed delightedly.

Hoggle wheezed and gasped, blinking hard and trying to breathe; it felt as though his lungs were being compressed. Aine lifted into the air and glided over to him, her long robes sliding out of the water and swooping around her as if it had never been in the scummy pond.

"What's wrong?" Aine asked in mock concern. "Did I hurt you?"

"You… bitch…" Hoggle panted. Aine smiled benevolently and she knelt in front of him.

Hoggle's eyes widened as she slid her hand over his chest, settling long, pearly claws at his throat. Slowly her fingers tightened and bunched into the front of shirt, the claws punching holes through the cloth. With a smile still on her lovely face, Aine lifted Hoggle from where he had slumped and pressed him against the wall. Once more she spread her fingers over his chest and simply held him there, pinned as a mouse beneath the paw of a cat.

Aine was powerful and she was dangerous but she had never turned her temper or her taste for inflicting pain on those within the Labyrinth.

"You… you wouldn't dare!" Hoggle whispered hoarsely. He was suddenly horribly aware of the long, sharp claws that were pressing delicately against his skin.

"No? Why not?" Aine asked as though she was truly curious.

"Jareth wouldn't allow it!"

Aine hissed softly and pressed against Hoggle. Beneath her fingers, his collar bone creaked softly. Hoggle gasped and yelled, scrabbling at her forearm with short nails.

"Filth such as you," Aine crooned, "will address the King by his station."

"F-fine!" Hoggle croaked, "The King wouldn't allow it!"

"Better," she said with bright smile. She lessened the pressure on Hoggle's chest but did not let him go, "But the King has indeed given me permission to do this."

"Wh-what?" Hoggle whispered, horrified.

"He told me to see what the girl had done to foul his most beautiful Labyrinth," Aine replied, "You, who were foul to begin with, have spent the most time in her presence."

"He did not give permission to kill me!" Hoggle screamed. Spittle sprayed from his mouth and flecked against Aine's face. She curled her lip in disgust and wiped it away with the back of her free hand.

"True," she said with a soft, mournful sigh, "But I thought I would collect the traitors that had dared aid that girl against the Goblin King and present them to our liege. It is highly unlikely that he will feel lenient to those fools who dared stand against him. Don't you think, hog wart?"

She watched him with flaming ruby eyes, daring him to correct her.

Hoggle didn't dare and stayed silent, starring at her with unconcealed fear. Aine smiled sweetly at him and looked over to her right as if she had heard something. Hoggle followed her gaze and saw an oubliette yawning there… it had not been there second before.

"And lo!" Aine cried exuberantly, "The King wishes to keep you confined!"

Hoggle shuddered, staring at the darkness that gaped in front of him, ever hungry. Aine tittered softly, feeling his pulse quicken beneath her fingers.

"I don't think you will find the right door down there, Hoggle," she said thoughtfully. Her hand curled into a ruthless claw around his throat. She pulled him away from the wall and walked to the oubliette. The old dwarf was gasping and choking in her grip but she paid him no mind.

"Your loyalty should not have wavered," Aine told him conversationally, suspending him above the pit.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hoggle wheezed while his nails scraped away at Aine's skin, leaving long, red marks.

"You know better than that," she chided, "It is not my forgiveness you need. Which is fortunate for you; I would never grant you pardon."

She released Hoggle and listened as he screamed all the way down the long, dark throat of the oubliette. It was only after she heard the satisfying thud and the beginning of soft, broken weeping that Aine turned away, laughing softly to herself.

She lifted into the air gracefully and the oubliette vanished behind her as if it never had been. Aine wondered where Jareth would keep Hoggle until the time of his 'trial'.

"Perhaps the Bog," she said hopefully, soaring high above the Labyrinth and searching the twisting paths below her for the others who had forsaken the King in favor of a human girl.

Eventually they would all get what they deserved… and, if Aine was lucky, it was she who would carry out their punishments.


	3. Condemnation

Jareth looked down at the traitors gathered before him without expression. His mismatched eyes were cold, bare of any emotion and in his hand he held a long, crystal staff that glittered with its own light. The top spiraled around a small, dark jewel that flashed and dazzled in the coming dark.

Hoggle, who had broken both legs in his tumble into the oubliette lay at an awkward angle, mutely trying to beg the King for mercy. Jareth's lips curled delicately into a sneer.

Beside the dwarf, Sir Didymus was bound at wrist and ankle and a thick, leather muzzle kept his jaws shut. The dog, Ambrosias, had fled when Aine had collected the knight.

Even gagged, Didymus snarled and flailed against his bonds, desperate to reach Jareth; even after the girl was gone, the knight stayed steadfast and true. It would be commendable if it had not been a betrayal in the first place.

The last was Ludo. Kneeling on his enormous hairy knees with manacles around his wrists and chained to the floor. The beast's massive back was sliced open in a dozen places and blood matted his dark fur.

Even so, Ludo glared defiantly at Jareth, dark eyes glittering with a dull intelligence.

Behind all of them, Aine hovered, her feet inches above the floor and glowing radiantly with glee. She stared at the traitors; broken, humiliated and soon to be punished and couldn't help the wicked smile that bloomed over her face.

"You have been summoned before the throne to pay for your trespasses," Jareth said coolly, "Head wart, we shall start with you. You have fraternized with an enemy, attempted to defeat me, caused incalculable damage to my city and castle… and you have ceased in your duties to remove the pixies from the outer wall. How do you plead?"

"It's…. It's _Hoggle_, Your Majesty," he whispered and then yelped when Aine dealt him a vicious back hand blow to the side of his face. Ludo growled low in his chest, the sound rumbling through the throne room. Sir Didymus thrashed even more wildly against his bonds.

No one paid them any mind.

The dwarf lay on the ground panting and wheezing as Aine hovered over him, her crimson eyes fever bright with excitement.

"You will speak to the king with respect," she cooed gently, "You will not correct him."

Hoggle nodded mutely, pushing himself up laboriously. He once more sat at that awkward angle and looked up at Jareth's cold, frightening face. Silence echoed through the throne room.

Aine coiled and curled and said with her mouth next to Hoggle's ear, "His majesty asked you a question… Or is your silence a declaration of your guilt… Hog wart."

Hoggle opened his mouth and snapped it shut again with an audible click. Aine's ruby lips twisted into a smug smile. Sir Didymus flailed his words of anger and defiance choked back by the leather and steel of the muzzle.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," the dwarf said carefully, "the girl is a witch and she tricked me."

Ludo roared his disapproval and struggled to his feet. Aine flashed towards him and sliced open his broad shoulders with long, shining claws. Blood turned the air into a fine, pink mist. Ludo tumbled to the ground where he stayed, panting and moaning with pain.

"Stay down," Aine said pleasantly.

"Hoggle…" Ludo rumbled, "Hoggle, Sarah _friend._"

Hoggle shot a pained glance to the great beast and dropped his pale eyes to the floor at Jareth's feet.

"She bewitched me. My loyalty is, and always will be, to the Goblin King," the dwarf said dully.

Aine tittered softly and flitted about the throne room like an over-excited butterfly. She perched on the arch above a door and idly licked the blood off the deadly points of her nails.

"That is not an answer to my question, dwarf," Jareth said with a terrible, cutting gentleness, "I asked how you pled to the crimes brought against you."

"She bewitched me!" Hoggle cried.

"So you admit that you befriended the human girl?"

"Yes, but--"

"And you confess that you attempted to defeat me?"

"I did, but, please--"

"And you realize the damage you caused my city? My palace? My _Labyrinth?_" Jareth's voice had risen to a roar. Ludo cringed away, terrified by the thunderous power that spilled from the Goblin King. Even Sir Didymus had laid his ears back in an attempt to flee the sound of Jareth's wrath.

"Hear me out!" Hoggle begged, tears standing out in his pale, faded eyes, "I did what you say but she bewitch--"

"And," Jareth said, his voice dropping to a smooth, caressing murmur, "you have stopped exterminating the pixies. Do you plead guilty to that as well?"

"Sarah loved the pixies!" Hoggle shouted, defiance making his eyes blaze, "She thought it was cruel to--"

Aine flashed from her perch, towards Hoggle. Her nails shone like little spikes of pearl in the candle light. Jareth held up a gloved hand and Aine froze; her attack stillborn. She drifted, just beyond Jareth's hand and watched Hoggle with simmering rage in her crimson eyes. After a moment, the Goblin King settled his hand back on the arm of his throne.

"So," Jareth said, "You plead guilty to all counts."

"Y… yes… Your Majesty," Hoggle whispered.

Jareth's lips curled into a small, satisfied smile, "The punishment for treason is death, Hog head."

"Please," Hoggle whispered, "Please, she _bewitched_ me! She… she's no normal human, Jareth, I swear--"

Aine hissed softly but did not move.

"Y-your Majesty," Hoggle amended quickly, "She's… she's not _right_."

Jareth considered and nodded his head once in agreement. Aine's eyes flashed brightly with something akin to madness.

"What you say is true," Jareth said, "The girl had a strange power of all the inhabitants of the Labyrinth… However there were others who stood against her. Why was it _you_ were so susceptible?"

"She… she met me first, Your Majesty and outside of the Labyrinth. Perhaps… Perhaps her magic is most powerful in the outside world," Hoggle said quickly.

"And interesting theory," Jareth said. He paused for a moment, considering. Hoggle watched him, trembling with fear and only then daring to hope.

"Your grace…" Aine whimpered, sounding pained.

"Peace, Aine," Jareth murmured and then turned hard, cold eyes on Hoggle, "Perhaps you were bewitched. Perhaps not… The fact remains that you have admitted your guilt to your crimes."

"Your Majesty--" Hoggle cried.

"_Silence," _Jareth commanded. There was no inflection in the words, no volume… still, the air chilled and Hoggle found his tongue hanging still and heavy in his mouth.

"You will be punished," Jareth continued calmly. At his side, Aine made a soft mewling noise of pleasure. Hoggle's eyes widened until the whites showed clearly. Jareth continued, "However, as you indeed might have been bewitched I will not the give the order for your death."

Hoggle shuddered with relief and Aine looked as though she had been denied a great treat.

"Instead," Jareth continued, "since you show such favor for humans I will strip of your fae blood and you will be deposited on earth."

Aine laughed delightedly, returning to her perch. Hoggle's mouth dropped open in horror.

"What is it Hoggle?" Jareth asked, his voice dripping feigned concern, "If you prefer I could sentence you to death. Aine was looking forward to it."

Hoggle's tongue was released of the spell and the dwarf sputtered, "No! Please, your majesty, don't let her--"

"Then you will be taken to earth," Jareth said coolly, "Do not make me regret my mercy, Hoggle. If you do, Aine will be the last person to hear you scream."

Aine smiled slowly at Hoggle, promising that any death by _her_ hand would not be a quick one.

Hoggle nodded mutely. Two goblins marched into the room and hauled the dwarf up by his arms and dragged him out of the room.

Jareth looked at Sir Didymus and Ludo thoughtfully, "Aine. Remove the Knight's muzzle."

Aine drifted forward and unbuckled Sir Didymus' gag. When he was free he snapped at her long fingers. She recoiled instinctively and then shot her hand forward and curled her fingers around the soft, furred throat. Her claws pierced through his thick hide and blood trickled over her fingers, darkening the Sir Disymus' fur. Aine pinched the knight's airway shut, watching with detached curiosity as his one visible eye rolled back into his head.

"Aine," Jareth said lazily.

"You see how merciful he is?" Aine murmured, her eyes burning with murder. She released Sir Didymus and the knight sagged, gasping and panting. Aine drifted backwards and once more perched on the arch above the door.

"Sir Didymus," Jareth said, "you have been found guilty of aiding an enemy of state, leaving your post and attacking my goblin knights. How do you plead?"

"I was protecting my lady!" Sir Didymus snarled, "I will not apologize for doing what is right! You are a tyrant! You are a monster! You are--"

Jareth waved one hand casually and the room was filled with ringing silence. The Goblin King said dryly, "What can one expect from a dumb beast?"

Aine tittered softly into her hand. Sir Didymus struggled against his bonds, his jaws opening and closing though the only sounds that escaped his maw was the snapping of his teeth.

"You are stripped of your knighthood," the Goblin King crooned, "Furthermore; I was the one who raised you from a simple beast to a creature of intelligence and my magic was wasted on you. I reclaim it now."

Suddenly, where Sir Didymus had knelt, bound at hands and feet, there was a small fox terrier, standing in a pile of fine, if stained, garments. The dog blinked around and shook its head, throwing the patch away and started to gnaw at the bonds.

Ludo howled in agony. The stones of the palace rumbled in response.

"Return the dog to earth as well," Jareth commanded. Another goblin moved forward and picked the dog up by its scruff and walked away. The former Sir Didymus yapped until the door slammed closed.

"That leaves this beast," Jareth said, turning his cold, mismatched gaze on Ludo. He bared his teeth and straightened his enormous shoulders… though he did not try to stand.

"Sarah _friend_," he rumbled. The stone grated and ground against one another throughout the room.

Jareth smiled a soft, cruel smile and said conversationally, "But he is only a beast… he could never understand anything of his crimes."

Ludo roared in fury. The stones rumbled and shuddered, attempting to heed the wordless call. Jareth sighed and tapped his staff against the floor of the throne room. With a soft chime of crystal on stone, the rock was silenced.

Ludo stared down at the rocks that had always heeded his call and felt a dark despair fill him. The stones had been the one constant friend in his life and now… now he could no longer hear their words.

In the following silence, Jareth nodded slightly at Aine and the lithe fortune teller rose into the air, crimson eyes glittering with malice and expectation.

Her right hand dropped casually to her side and from one, pearly nail a thread of golden fire uncoiled. It brought with it great heat and even greater light. Ludo could barely stand to look at it. He bared his teeth and snarled at Aine, fear and anger both evident in the sound.

With a flickering motion almost too fast to see, Aine brought her hand up. The strand of fire delicately trailed over Ludo's shoulders and back, burning away the fur and slicing through the skin beneath with horrible, startling ease. The beast's roar abruptly turned into a strangled moan and the room was filled with the smell of burning hair and cooking flesh.

The thread of fire and light returned to Aine and the luminescence that came from her flared even brighter.

Jareth studied Ludo in silence for a long moment before he said, "He cannot be left on earth and I have no need for a traitor."

"Your grace," Aine murmured, "If I may?"

Jareth nodded once and the fortune teller drifted close to Ludo, her glittering eyes drinking in his pain. Though badly wounded and wheezing with pain, Ludo bared his impressive tusks at her.

Aine smiled as she said, "His kind come from the Dark Fae, Your Grace. He left because he was not savage enough for their taste and came to the Labyrinth for Sanctuary… Since he took advantage of your mercy, perhaps it's time for him to return to his family."

Ludo's dark eyes glittered with a very human fear and Aine smiled in satisfaction.

"I'll consider it," Jareth said, "Until then, he will help rebuild my city since he was the one who caused the most damage."

"Yes, Your grace," Aine murmured. More goblins came in and attached thick, heavy chains to the manacles that clamped around Ludo's wrists. They tugged and pushed and eventually prodded the beast out. Jareth sighed softly and set his staff aside.

Aine drifted towards the Goblin King and settled at his feet.

"I granted all of their wishes, Aine," he said softly, "I gave Hoggle a place of safety, a purpose… I gave Didymus his intelligence and his knighthood and I even gave Ludo a place where his family and the Dark Court couldn't touch him… And yet they all betrayed me."

Aine reached out and brushed her fingers reverently against Jareth's cape, "I am sorry, Your Grace."

Jareth shook his head, "It was bound to happen… It is likely that it will happen again. Perhaps you shall betray me one day, Aine."

"_Never_, Your Majesty," she breathed, "I have never forgotten what you did for me and I never will. I am not like them; they were all little more than beasts. I am not like them."

Jareth rested his chin against the back of his hand and considered Aine through half lidded eyes, "No," he murmured, "you are nothing like them."

She sighed deeply and tentatively leaned her head against Jareth's knee. When he did not move away she quivered with barely contained euphoria and closed her eyes. For a moment the Goblin King and his most devoted servant sat in silence.

"I have a task for you, Aine," Jareth murmured.

"I live only to serve you, Your Grace," she breathed.

Jareth smiled a little to himself as he gazed out at the star strewn sky beyond.


End file.
